“Oh, this American dream — it’s not at all what it seems,” Kari Arnett warns, backed by minor-key piano arpeggios, haunting fiddle and four-on-the-floor kickdrum pulses. “This American Life” captures the zeitgeist of the modern age, drawing a line between what was promised in school and what was actually delivered in the real world. - Rolling Stone
"there’s no question her songwriting is fueled with a Middle America spirit – there’s no dross or added fat on these songs and the laser focus Arnett brings to her art sets her apart from many peers and contemporaries." - No Depression
http://nodepression.com/album-review/kari-arnetts-first-full-length-studio-album
Photo By: Chris Duke
BIO
Authentic is the word most often used to describe Kari Arnett. An artist willing to be intimate and vulnerable with her fans. Her debut EP Midwestern Skyline (2015) solidified her place on the Americana scene as an artistic and personal breakthrough. Its 7 songs plumb the limits of her courage and fears to emerge as triumphant proof of Arnett's journey of musical self-discovery — a route that led her from her birthplace of Madison, WI to singing on stages as a young child, teaching herself piano and guitar, onto performing around the Midwest and, finally, through the artistic and personal metamorphosis that’s resulted in the balance of beauty, vulnerability and honesty captured in the stories on Midwestern Skyline. Produced by Chris Mittlesteadt (Happenstance Studios - Reedsburg, WI) the beauty lies in the lack of production and the organic approach of a stripped-down album. With bold honesty and lush instrumentation on the songs "Heavy Heart" and "Casualties", and in the simplicity of its most reflective tracks - "Lake Michigan" and "Love Someone".
Kari Arnett released her debut full-length (11 track) album (When The Dust Settles) on September 20 2018 (Produced by: Danny O'Brien (Hot Dad Labs - Minneapolis, MN | Mastered By: Huntley Miller) which is already getting positive reviews from Rolling Stone, No Depression, Wide Open Country, The Bluegrass Situation, The Daily Country, Americana Highways, and more.
SHORT BIO:
Based in Madison, WI Americana singer/songwriter Kari Arnett offers up authentic Midwestern feelings and has shared the stage with Paul Thorn, Frazey Ford, Chastity Brown, Michael McDermott, Mary Bragg, and many more. Her vocal style has often been compared to Brandi Carlile, Patty Griffin, and Lori McKenna with a vulnerable grit as honest as her songs and inhabits the folk-country borderlands. Arnett's single, "Heavy Heart", received praise as well as a feature from American Songwriter Magazine as well as other great reviews in The Alternate Root, and Revival Music Magazine. Her debut EP, "Midwestern Skyline", was released in 2015. She released her full-length album, "When The Dust Settles" in 2018 and has already garnered positive acclaim from Rolling Stone, No Depression, Wide Open Country, The Bluegrass Situation, and more.
Kari Arnett is currently a returning college student, based in Madison, WI and is finding new ways to bridge music to her passion in social work.
Photo By: Tyler Anderson
Nominated for 3 Madison Area Music Awards 2016 (Best Americana Album, Female Vocalist, and Best Americana Song)
Featured as a Daily Discovery by American Songwriter Magazine (Oct. 2015)
Has opened for acts such as: Paul Thorn, Frazey Ford, The Wind and The Wave, Erin Rae, Chastity Brown
Has played at prestigious venues such as: The Bluebird Café (Nashville), Dakota Jazz Club (Minneapolis), Aster Café (Minneapolis), High Noon Saloon (Madison), Majestic Theater (Madison), Turf Club (St. Paul, MN), Alpine Valley (Milwaukee), Sofar Sounds (Mpls + Chicago), and more....
Max Ink Radio (Madison, WI) Top 41 of 2015 - Kari Arnett "Heavy Heart" ranked #30
Recorded a Daytrotter session in May of 2016
Had her song, "Only a Woman" premiere on Wide Open Country
Received positive reviews for her new upcoming album When The Dust Settles through Americana Highways and No Depression
Recorded a video for The Current (Radio Heartland) for her track, “Only a Woman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W88YZBJdxfw
Has done an interview with The Bluegrass Situation and The Daily Country
Her song, “This American Life” was featured as #1 song for the week of October 17, 2018 for The Alternate Root
Kari Arnett was the featured artist for Country Belles (United Kingdom) for the week of Nov 5 2018
When The Dust Settles featured on Red Dirt Roots and John Godrey’s Radio Troubadour Spotify playlists
Tired of This Town featured on Chill Folk & Relaxing Roots playlist https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0CaTu8UEOQHJ5mu2KGieFy
“This American Life” was featured in Rolling Stone as One of the 10 Best Country Songs to Hear https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/best-country-songs-tucker-beathard-dolly-parton-761899/
“Only a Woman” featured in Americana Highways as Song of the Year 2018 https://americanahighways.org/2018/12/23/and-in-2018-nevertheless-we-persisted/
“One More Chance” was featured as a Best of 2018 pick from Farce the Music http://www.farcethemusic.com/2018/12/farce-musics-top-10-songs-of-2018.html
In studio performance at Wisconsin Public Radio https://www.wpr.org/singer-songwriter-kari-arnett-making-music-magical
Quotes
Americana Highways
Perhaps no one song better defined 2018 than Kari Arnett’s “Only a Woman” and that’s why it’s my choice for Song of The Year. The Wisconsin-born Arnett assembled a group of Minneapolis musicians to record her debut album. When The Dust Settles is a remarkable set of personal songs that rise to a moral referendum on the state of the country and its soul and character. -https://americanahighways.org/2018/12/23/and-in-2018-nevertheless-we-persisted/
Rolling Stone
“Oh, this American dream — it’s not at all what it seems,” Kari Arnett warns, backed by minor-key piano arpeggios, haunting fiddle and four-on-the-floor kickdrum pulses. “This American Life” captures the zeitgeist of the modern age, drawing a line between what was promised in school and what was actually delivered in the real world.
Bill DeVille - DJ & Host of The United States of Americana 89.3 FM The Current (Minneapolis, MN)
“Kari Arnett is one of the hardest working Americana artists in the Twin Cities scene. There is some sharp songwriting on this touching batch of songs. When the Dust Settles is her best yet!”
The Alternate Root - (Palm Springs, CA)
"Melancholy is an ever-present force in the voice of Kari Arnett. Backed with the ethereal melodies of Americana, Kari Arnett uses the space in between the notes as a secret ingredient in the songs she collects as Midwestern Skyline, her recent E.P. release." - Danny McCloskey
DEZ MUSIC BLOG - (Minneapolis, MN)
" Her soft vocals and the light tone of her guitar that makes the listener able to immerse themselves into the album fully and take it all in. It’s a classic story of love, loss, heartbreak and trying to fill the spaces in-between that is so relatable, and that makes the listener want more..." - Desney Cody Rift Magazine
Photo By: Chad Cochran - http://www.cowtownchad.com
Booking: kariarnettmusic@gmail.com